Public humiliation remains officials' tool for fighting dissent in Chechnya

Chechen authorities are making use of public humiliations by relying both on the Soviet experience and on the long-standing traditions of the nation. However, over time, people's systematic demonstrative humiliations start generating the opposite effect, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in October and November, at least three posts about "warning conversations" at police departments with people detained for drinking alcoholic beverages and using psychotropic substances were posted in Chechen public accounts.

The practice of public humiliations is applied in Chechnya without evaluating its efficiency, because the main recipient of these actions is the federal power, not the Chechen society, said Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.

"They have a mindset to be in the limelight; so, they try to do something. For some time I had thought that this was done for Chechen residents, but now I'm convinced that this is done for the Kremlin, just to show that they are active, are working and affecting. Nobody believes in these games in Chechnya; people are sick and tired of them," Mr Kutaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The reprimand itself was an efficient tool for affecting the offender in the Chechen society, he has noted.

"Yes, at one time, for the Chechen society, a public reprimand was a serious measure: not only the family, but the whole clan was disgraced ... However, now this institute has been discredited," Ruslan Kutaev has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 7, 2019 at 04:43 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.